Tag Archives: Constellation

Worse than Nixon – or a Masterstroke?

So who will have the last word on what NASA does next in space? Maybe some powerful members of Congress…at least that is what Constellation supporters are hoping this week – as they move from the shock and denial – … Continue reading →

Tagged Constellation, Constellation program, Education, International Space Station, Michael D. Griffin, Mike Griffin, NASA, President of the United States, Space, Space Adventures, Space tourism, Technology, United States

Unease Among the Troops

Things are anything but tranquil and clear among the NASA rank and file this week…as they try to digest the news that the space program is taking the most dramatic turn since JFK challenged it to go to the moon. … Continue reading →

Tagged Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Charles F. Bolden Jr., Constellation, Constellation program, NASA, Presidency of Barack Obama, Space, Technology

NASA Pivots to a New Direction

What a “Week in Space” it has been! I traveled to Washington D.C. to see the drafting of the first page in a new chapter of the history of US manned exploration of space. The Obama White House is out … Continue reading →

Tagged Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Constellation, Constellation program, Lori Garver, NASA, Space, Space exploration, Technology

Wanted: Space Cadets with Open Minds

be Norm Augustine, the man who is leading the White House scrubbing of NASA’s post-shuttle plans, has apparently selected a group of experts who have not made up their mind about the future of space exploration in this country. They … Continue reading →

Tagged Ares V, Constellation, Human spaceflight, Lockheed Martin, NASA, Office of Management and Budget, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Space, White House

Miles O'Brien on Brian Lehrer Show

Miles O’Brien on Flickr – Photo Sharing!. My interview with Brian Lehrer. We talked about (what else?) space. Full interview can be heard here.

Tagged areas, Constellation, NASA, Shuttle

First Dog trumps Final Frontier?

There is a lot of hand-wringing in the space community these days about the Obama Administration’s inability to fill the corner office on the ninth floor at NASA headquarters. The incredulous refrain among space cadets: “they picked the First Dog … Continue reading →

Tagged Ares, Ares I, Columbia Accident Investigation Board, Constellation, George W. Bush, NASA, Shuttle, Space Cadets, Space exploration, Space Shuttle program, Thomas O. Paine

O'Brien BLOG »

Science for Sale »

posted March 13, 2013 by Miles O'Brien

HINKLEY, Calif. – We all love a neat, tidy Hollywood ending to a David and Goliath story. Sadly, in the real world, they are hard to come by. More often than not, the little guy might win a battle, but Goliath prevails over the long haul — winning the war.

Before I went to Hinkley, I did, of course, watch the movie once again. As it turns out Erin Brockovich is accurate in many respects.

You might remember the woman who gets a big check at the end of the movie after the down-on-her-luck, crusading legal assistant has brought a giant utility to its knees for polluting the groundwater beneath the tiny desert town half way between L.A. and Las Vegas.

In the movie, she was known as Donna Jensen (and played by Marg Helgenberger). There is no real-life Donna Jensen — the details of her story are a composite of several real-life travails.

But Roberta Walker was the main inspiration. Naturally, it was not long after I met her that I asked her what she thought of the movie.

Read the rest of the post and see the video story here.

About Miles

Miles O’Brien is a veteran freelance broadcast and web journalist who focuses on science, technology & aerospace.

He is the Science Correspondent for PBS NewsHour, and a regular correspondent for the PBS documentary series FRONTLINE and the National Science Foundation Science Nation series.

For nearly seventeen of his thirty years in the news business, he worked for CNN as the Science and Space Correspondent and the anchor of various programs, including American Morning.

Full bio & publicity photos »